“My matches always last close to three hours”: Paula Badosa triumphs in Brisbane return, sets up clash with Rybakina

After more than 100 days since her last appearance on the Tour, Paula Badosa refreshed the courts with a notable triumph in her debut at the Brisbane International, overcoming Marie Bouzkova in three sets—in a duel that exceeded three hours—and giving Badosa passage to the Round of 16 by 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2.

The Spaniard—currently world No. 25—had a complicated 2025, in which she began the year with a return to the top 10, but injuries took away her continuity as the months passed. Following her first-round defeat at Wimbledon around June, she was forced to stop for several months.

Badosa only played one further tournament in 2025, which was the China Open in October, where she retired injured in the middle of her second-round match against Karolina Muchova. Since then, more than three months passed before seeing the former Indian Wells champion back on court.

Badosa needs to gain victories and rhythm quickly, with the defense of points from the Australian Open semifinals occurring in a few weeks. The former world No. 2 is exposed to a sharp fall in the rankings during this month, which could see her drop nearly 40 places in the WTA ranking.

“I am exhausted. I do not know why, but my matches always go around three hours,” a smiling Badosa commented upon finishing the match. “Welcome, 2026. Marie played very well; we have known each other since juniors and she is a great player and a better person. Thank you for being here so late.”

The four-time WTA titleholder played in the final session of the day, facing Marie Bouzkova (No. 46)—her opponent in the 2024 DC Open final, where Badosa had won in three sets. Again it would be a long-winded battle, with a first set that reached 79 minutes and was defined in the tie-break in favor of the Czech.

The second set began and Bouzkova did not seem to let go of the match, showing consistency from the service line. The duel already exceeded an hour and a half, but Badosa did not plan to give up. Despite a poor 50% first serve percentage, the Spaniard did not concede any break opportunities, while it was enough for her to take advantage of 1 of the 7 given by her rival to move ahead at 3-2. The 28-year-old Spaniard held onto her serve until closing the set 6-4, when the duel already exceeded two hours.

The third set began as a rollercoaster: a break put Badosa ahead and Bouzkova reacted quickly by returning the break. Badosa was in a complicated situation when the score was 1-2, 0-40 down, but she managed to recover and take control in the final stretch of the match. Badosa won up to 5 consecutive games and ended up closing the victory 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the Round of 16 of the Brisbane International. “I try to stay relaxed when I have to play matches late at night, which is not easy,” she indicated after the match.

Now comes an interesting challenge for Badosa, who will face world No. 5 Elena Rybakina in arguably the most attractive duel of the round in Brisbane. To date, they have 8 official meetings with 4 wins for each, although the Kazakh has emerged victorious in their last three encounters, the last of them at the 2025 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which was decided in a third-set tie-break, also in a three-hour duel.